


Tags

by Ms_Moriarty



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Dog Tags, Domestic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-23
Updated: 2012-05-23
Packaged: 2017-11-05 21:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/411413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ms_Moriarty/pseuds/Ms_Moriarty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim needs Sebastian's dog tags for a disguise. Rated T for language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tags

“Give me,” Jim makes a grasping motion in the general direction of Sebastian's neck.

Sebastian looks down then back up, eyeing Jim questioningly, “What? _Why?_ ”

Jim sighs heavily, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes, “Just do it.”

“Alright,” Sebastian concedes, “But I'd still like to know why.” He sets down his newspaper, and pulls his dog tags off over his head.

“You ask so many questions,” Jim scolds, “It's tedious answering all of them.”

Sebastian drops the chain into his own hand, which he closes around the tags, knowing that there's no way Jim can pull them out of his grasp without using seriously excessive force. Thankfully, Jim doesn't look like he wants them badly enough to shoot or stab anyone. Not yet, at least.

It's a favourite game of Sebastian's to defy Jim just enough to make their lives a bit more interesting. He's paid for it dearly a few times – there's a fine line between simply pushing Jim's buttons and getting into _serious_ trouble, and it's a tempting line to cross. The smaller man may not be as capable of physical force as he is, but what Jim lacks in physical strength, he easily makes up for in agility and ingenuity.

However, every time Jim's eyes spark dangerously, Sebastian is rewarded enough to continue. He's made a living off of adrenaline rushes, and he would be lying if he said it didn't send a jolt of electricity into his bloodstream every time he defies Jim. As a man used to combat, he can say without a shadow of a doubt that Jim is more terrifying when angered than combat ever was. The worst thing a bullet can do is kill someone, and while Jim essentially has what amounts to a well organised army at his disposal, it's not the sort of army that comes charging over the hill with guns blazing. Sometimes it's not even sudden, guerilla tactics. Those strategies work well enough for people Jim wants to silence quickly and with spectacle, but Sebastian knows that he's close enough to Jim that if he ever gets on his bad side, Jim will want him to _suffer_. But Sebastian is clever, and the best sniper in England easily, if not the world – so an ambush is more or less off the table.

No, if he gets on Jim's bad side, his demise will be a slow, painful one – one that will burn his life to the ground from the inside out. Jim has already wormed his way into the most intimate aspects of Sebastian's life, and achieving the desired result would not be difficult. Especially not for the consulting criminal, who can be charming one moment, and positively caustic the next. Sebastian might easily not even see it coming. The threat of such a situation in and of itself is thrilling enough to encourage Sebastian to continue tempting fate.

Jim's eyes spark and his nostrils flare slightly, “I need them for a disguise. Now hand them over.”

Sebastian decides it's safe enough to push just a bit more, “What kind of costume?”

Jim lowers his outstretched arm and glowers at Sebastian, “Why the fuck do you need to know so much?”

Sebastian smiles, knowing that he has been a terrible influence on Jim's vocabulary. Jim never used to swear much, and Sebastian wonders if he has noticed his new habit. Probably not, Sebastian concludes. Jim observes everything that other people do without effort, but he is often clueless when it comes to his own mannerisms. He simply assumes that everything he does is _right_ , and it would never occur to him that he could have picked up anything from someone so supposedly _beneath_ him.

“Just curious, _boss_ ,” he shrugs lazily, though a smirk tugs at the corner of his lips.

“Gay IT employee,” exasperated, Jim sighs the words so quickly they slur together. He squares his shoulders, a sure sign to Sebastian that their game needs to end before the consequences become too serious. “Now, give me the tags before I have to break every bone in your hand.”

Sebastian laughs as he opens his hand, allowing Jim to snatch the tags from him as if his hand were a loaded bear trap. “Hardly a disguise,” Sebastian grins playfully.

“Shut up,” Jim snaps, as he throws the dog tags on, tucks them down the front of his grey v-neck, and storms out of the room. “Catch you later,” he shouts from the doorway, and though his tone is a bit harsh, Sebastian can hear the amusement in his voice.


End file.
